It has recently come to my attention that I sing rather a lot of Bach.

I am perfectly happy with this arrangement.

I never sang a note of Bach's music before moving to Boston in 2015, besides preparing my graduate school audition (somehow I thought it would be a good idea to struggle through the virtuosic BWV 1 soprano aria with no prior experience). I thought it might be fun to keep a running list of what I've done since then. Boston tossed me into a sea of dizzying melismas as soon as I arrived, and I had no idea what had hit me! Here is my comprehensive Bach repertoire list, mostly for my amusement and to gather the memories, but also as a supplement to my ordinary resume. I hear that sometimes people want to know everything you've ever sung, ever. Let's go!!

[This blog entry was originally posted on May 24th, 2016 on another platform.]

Hi there.

Let’s get straight to business: I’d like to share a bit with you about how stinking wonderful Music at Marsh Chapel is.

Back in February 2014 when I auditioned at BU, I sat in on the Marsh Chapel Choir’s rehearsal of Rachmaninoff’s All Night Vigil and fell immediately and desperately in love. I knew, right then, that I had to move to Boston. I had to move to this beautiful, blizzard stricken city where people get off work and casually go make some of the most delicately polished and breathtaking music I’d ever had the pleasure of hearing. A huge, happy bubble of longing had taken up permanent residence in my chest, and I knew I simply must own that BU audition. You know the rest. I was accepted to Boston University despite my nice feelings of crippling self doubt and nearly cried all over Meredith Cornwell, who was very nice about it indeed. I waffled between a couple of schools for a bit, before finally submitting my decision to BU. Fast forward to August 2015, trundling through New York behind a U Haul. I got a very crackly phone call, this time from Scott Allen Jarrett. He offered me a position as a choral scholar at Marsh Chapel, you know, if I thought I’d be interested. Hold. The. Phone. Someone wants to PAY me to sing in the ensemble that captured my heart and mind in one simple evening rehearsal? Hmm. How do I phrase this? YES PLEASE, I AM THE MOST INTERESTED OF ALL HUMAN BEINGS EVER. And it turned out to be everything I could’ve wanted and much, much more. What follows is a list of everything the Marsh Chapel Choir sang this school year, leaving out service music, special services, and chamber music concerts.

And so, my friends- if I have gushed to you at any point during the last 8 months about Music at Marsh Chapel, know that I was severely understating how special it is. And at the urging of Scott, I’ve finally made time to sit and reflect upon it. I am a grateful baby soprano. Special thanks to Scott Allen Jarrett, Justin Blackwell, Carey Shunskis, Jacquelyn Stucker Drye, Kimberly Sizer Leeds, Doug Dodson, Sam Kreidenweis, Ethan DePuy, Dominick Joseph, Patrick Waters, Meg Weckworth, Kevin Neel, Sean Watland, and Anna Carro, for being mentors by example and a wonderful staff.

When I auditioned for the U.K. Voces8 Scholars Programme last winter, I thought it might be a long shot. Any time I'm competing with British singers, I know that they will have been sight reading since the age of six months or something, and have been brought up in the rich English choral tradition, which was unparalleled far before the birth of the U.S. I only though that if I stood a chance, it would be a privilege to learn from singers of that background.

Enter the U.S. Voces8 Scholars Program.

Apparently there was so much American interest in the program this year that Voces8 was kind enough to begin an American program, which resulted in the emotional roller coaster of a half rejection, half acceptance letter that I shortly received.

On Thursday, six young singers, ages 22-26, showed up in Plano, Texas with not the slightest idea of what was about to happen (other than some music making). So, what did we learn? What was the end result of this adventure?

We engaged with the community and learned some incredible pedagogical techniques designed to get even the most hesitant of singers to sing (check out Paul Smith's 'Pas de Deux' and 'The Voces8 Method' for more on that).

We learned exercises and techniques to create a cohesive small ensemble sound for one on a part singing.

We learned how to connect across the ensemble, to unify entrances, and to communicate with each other.

We learned how to run a rehearsal without a leader, but with six leaders working as a team, and trying things out whether they worked or not.

We had the luxury of rehearsing just a handful of pieces for hours on end, and found that everyone was so nerdy that we LIVED for the picky details.

We convinced Paul to make a Bitmoji, which is likely the most important thing that happened.

We became friends in three days.

We were treated to vigorous Southern hospitality by the staff (especially Taylor, Jonathan, and Philip) and choir of St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano, TX, and ate far too much food.

It was a huge privilege to learn from Paul Smith of Voces8, who is extremely knowledgeable and was kind enough to guide and mentor us. It was also a huge privilege to learn from my American colleagues as they brought their variety of knowledge and experiences to the table in our collaborative rehearsals, the likes of which I had never experienced.

I write this in my hotel room. Everyone has departed except for me, so here I sit, unpacking this beautiful, whirlwind experience so that the memories don't slip away as soon as I fly home to Boston. I look forward with great anticipation to whatever comes next, and hope that it involves all of the wonderful people I just met.

For a long time now, whenever I hear the soprano solo in Paulus's 'The Road Home', I will hear Christine's ridiculously silvery and lovely voice. Seriously. Get it, girl.

As if all of this wasn't enough, I have finally lived my dream of singing Renaissance polyphony one on a part. This is a dream I've had since seeing the Tallis Scholars perform at ACDA in Dallas. I was both changed and transported by that performance, because apparently the combination of British singers and Texas creates actual magic.